11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O34.2

18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5)

Under certain circumstances, it’s a Federal crime for anyone who isn’t a

licensed dealer to sell or transfer a firearm to someone who lives in another state.

The Defendant can be found guilty of this crime only if all the following

facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) the Defendant willfully transferred, sold, or delivered a firearm to

another person;

(2) at the time, neither the Defendant nor the person who received the

firearm was a licensed firearms dealer, importer, manufacturer, or

collector; and

(3) the Defendant knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the

person who received the firearm resided in another state.

A “firearm” is any weapon designed to or readily convertible to expel a

projectile by the action of an explosive. The term includes the frame or receiver of

any such weapon or any firearm muffler or silencer.

To “transfer” a firearm means to deliver it to someone else.

To have “reasonable cause to believe” that someone resides in another state

means to know facts that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the other

person resides in another state.

The heart of this crime is to willfully transfer a firearm to a resident of

another state.

[It’s not a crime to lend or rent a firearm to someone for legal sporting

purposes.

It’s not a crime to transfer or deliver a firearm to a nonresident when

carrying out a bequest or intestate succession as long as the person who receives

the firearm may do so under that person’s state law.]

[A “bequest” is property given to someone else in a will.

“Intestate succession” is the method defined by state law to distribute the

estate of someone who dies without a will.]